Out-rebounding a taller UC-Irvine, the Sam Houston battled the Anteaters down to the final minutes before falling 63-53 in the opening game of the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Monday night in El Paso.
Aurimas Majauskas scored 16 points and was the game's top rebounder with eight boards. The Bearkats totaled 38 rebounds to 33 for UCI 38 to 33. Torry Butler added 10 points and grabbed six rebounds for the SHSU men.
"We went in with a good game plan and executed it well," Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten said. "The difference in the game were two stretches in the second half when they out-scored us 12-5 and 12-6. We've got to do better at the free throw line than 11-of-20."
Mamadou Ndiaye, the Anteater's 7-6 center, was one of four UCI players with five rebounds. Mike Best, a 6-10 forward, and Luke Nelson a 6-4 guard, each scored 14 points.
Butler gave the Bearkats their first lead with a layup four minutes into the game as the Sam men went up 6-5. Two free throws by Butler gave the Kats their biggest lead of the game, 17-9, with 6:05 left in the opening period. Sam Houston took a 30-25 lead into the locker room at intermission.
UC-Irvine took back the lead 35-34 on a Best lay-up four minutes into the second half. Majuaskas pulled Sam back within one point, 39-38, with a jumper at the 13:16 mark. The Anteaters took control with a 14-5 run to go up 53-43 with seven minutes left.
Jamal Williams, who scored seven points and pulled down five rebounds, pulled the Kats back within six, 55-49 with 4:06 to play. But the Kats could come no closer.
"Jamal has got a really good feel at point guard," Hooten said. "He's doing a good job. We need some people to step up and help him."
Sam Houston went 10-for-25 from the floor in the first half to post a 40 percent shooting mark. The Kats limited the Anteaters with 29 percent shooting (7-of-24). But things shifted in the second 20 minutes with UCI going 15-of-27 from the field and Sam Houston 11-of-20.
"We did a good job of neutralizing their big men inside. They each only got five rebounds," Hooten said. "But they've got a couple of really good guards. We held them in the first half but they got hot in the second."
Norfolk State defeated host UTEP 85-76 in Monday's second game. The Miners and the Bearkats will tip off at 6 p.m. Huntsville time Tuesday. The Sun Bowl Classic, the NCAA's oldest holiday tournament, continues Tuesday night with games at 6 and 8:15 p.m.
